Rocking the Cairo Bazaar
by Kender20
Summary: Yugi wins tickets and backstage passes to see a famous rock band, Shining Nova, live in Egypt. As he and his friends find out, the band's five members are anything but ordinary. And during the concert a certain pharaoh also decides to pay a visit.


Note: I have to admit, writing multiple stories at once is not easy. My muse seems to have a rather short attention span when it comes to this kind of multitasking. Nevertheless, I have a very clear idea concerning the plot of Blue Eyes White Mermaid. I just need to figure out certain parts of the next chapter before I can speed by. Anyway, this is a great opprotunity to show you this new two-shot I have. This story is a perfect way to introduce you to my original characters. That's right! I actually have OCs and they are my pride and joy! The thing is, although they're based on concepts of Yu-Gi-Oh, these OCs are from the Guitar Hero game series. Think of it as a quasi-crossover. I only hope this fic gives you a good idea as to what they're like. Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor to I own any reference to Guitar Hero in the later part of this story. And you know what? **_I'm glad I don't!_** I DO own my OCs, however, and that I can be proud to say!

**Rocking the Cairo Bazaar**

The ringing of bells echoed in the spring air, signaling another hour of class at Domino High School. In one homeroom in particular, there was an air of anticipation. Yugi could barely sit still in his desk, and the same could be said about his friends.

"Can you believe it's finally here guys?" Yugi asked in excitement, "It's the day of the big raffle!"

"Aw yeah!" Jonouchi cheered, "It's raffle time!"

"I heard that the grand prize is very big this time." Honda noted, "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Admitted Anzu, "But whatever it is, it must be really good."

"I know! That's why I entered the raffle again this year." Jonouchi stated, clenching his fist in determination. "This is my last chance to get the big prize!"

"Heh, no surprise." Kaiba chuckled, "Last year, you put in at least 30 tickets with your name on it, but we all know how that turned out."

"Shut your trap Kaiba!" Jonouchi barked.

"Speaking of entering the raffle," Yugi replied, "Since this is our senior year in Domino High, I've decided to give it a go."

"Really?" Anzu gasped in amazement.

"Wow! That's pretty bold of you!" Honda complimented in surprise.

"Yeah! Good luck getting the grand prize Yugi!" encouraged Jonouchi.

"You too Jonouchi." Replied Yugi, "May the best man win!"

"Don't get your hopes up too high Yugi." Kaiba muttered, "You know the odds are against you."

Yugi sighed in frustration. He knew his rival was right, but that didn't let him down. It was only a year ago when he defeated his alter ego, Pharaoh Atem, in the Rite of the Duel and sent him to his well-deserved rest in the afterlife, but somehow he knew that there is a part of the Pharaoh that is still with him. All he had to do is look at himself in the mirror and listen to his own voice. Knowing that he now bore a strong resemblance to the spirit of the now-lost Millennium Puzzle, Yugi couldn't help but smile.

"Quiet everyone!" the teacher called out, "As you know, today is the annual spring raffle. I would like to wish you all the best of luck in winning this year's grand prize. So without further ado, let's get it on!" The students cheered wildly as she took out a small raffle wheel. "Now listen carefully," she explained after the students quieted down, "I'll give the wheel a good spin to shuffle the tickets. It will be done three times, in ranking from third to first. Let's get started with the spin for third place. The one who takes third place will get…"—the teacher took out a slender flat machine and held it up for all to see—"This brand new I-pod!" The students let out some enthusiastic 'oohs' and 'ahhs'—with the notable exception of Kaiba, of course.

"I've got a hundred of those things." He muttered.

"And here we go!" the teacher announced. She took the handle and spun the wheel ten times. When she was finished she reached in and pulled out a single ticket. "Third place goes to… Seto Kaiba!" Said teen billionaire jerked his head up in utter shock, even as the other students cheered.

"What the?" Seto gasped, "How did that happen?"

"Guess you're not number one this time, eh Rich Boy?" Jonouchi taunted. Seto just grumbled as he stood up to retrieve I-pod number one hundred and one.

"All right!" The teacher replied enthusiastically, "Time to move on to second place! The one who gets second will get this collection of Duel Monsters artwork, autographed by the many artists who contributed to the making of this exciting game!"

"Heeeey, those paintings don't look so bad!" Honda complemented as his eyes scanned over the collection on display. Once again, the teacher spun the wheel ten times before she plucked out a ticket.

"Second place goes to… Jonouchi Katsuya!"

"Huh? W-who me?" Jonouchi gasped in amazement.

"Yes you." The teacher replied cheerfully, "Now come on over and get your prize!" The students cheered as the sandy blonde retrieved his new collection.

"Congratulations Jonouchi!" Yugi cheered, "You finally got something!"

"Well… it's not exactly the grand prize, but at least I got something cool." Jonouchi reasoned with a triumphant smirk, "And besides, I'm actually better than Kaiba for once!"

Kaiba just snorted. "At least **I** got the originals back at home."

"Uh, actually Kaiba," the teacher pointed out, "These are the originals. The appraisers came over to your mansion and confirmed that the Duel Monsters art you have on display are all counterfeits."

Again, there was a look of utter shock as the revelation came over him like the fist of Obelisk the Tormentor. In frustration over his own stupidity, he banged his head three times on his desk. "I knew there was something shady about that one merchant!"

"All right! Strike three for Kaiba!" Jonouchi exclaimed in triumph.

"Okay, that's enough over there!" the teacher stated, "Because now is the moment you've all been waiting for!" She then placed on the table a small object covered by a navy-blue cloth.

"Hey! Where's the grand prize?" Otogi shouted from the back.

"I'll tell you." Replied the teacher, pointing to the small object. "It's right here under that cloth."

A tough-looking student stared at the object in confusion. "…Looks kinda small for something that's supposed to be the grand prize."

"Watch it! You know better than to judge the prize by the size alone!" Otogi barked at the student, "It may look small, but it's worth more than you think!"

"You're absolutely right Otogi." Complemented the teacher, before turning her attention toward the class. "Now, I bet you're wondering why this year's grand prize is covered up like this. Well, that's because it's a big surprise, and I will only reveal what it is after we find out who gets first place."

The class began to talk aloud amongst themselves.

"I wonder what it is."

"I hope it's a new videogame. I sure would like to win that!"

"That prize is as good as mine!"

"Quiet down everyone!" the teacher announced, "Let's give the wheel one more spin!" And so the whole class held their breath as she took the handle and spun the wheel for one last time. Yugi couldn't help but feel nervous. After all, the odds really were against him. Finally the spinning stopped, and the teacher stuck her hand in, pulling out a folded ticket.

She announced, "This is it everyone, the winner is…" She slowly unfolded the ticket and scanned its contents, adding to the suspense. Then suddenly, she shouted the winner's name in excitement, and displayed the ticket for all to see. "Yugi Mutou!"

As some of the students cheered wildly, Yugi's eyes grew wide with amazement.

"Way to go Yugi!" Jonouchi exclaimed joyfully, "You won first place on the first try!"

"Congratulations!" Ryou shouted from the back, clapping.

"Yay Yugi!" cheered Anzu. In all honesty, it actually took the King of Games a few seconds before the whole thing sank in. He began to smile.

"I… I won!" he gasped, "I won!"

"Congratulations Yugi," the teacher stated, "Come on up here to get your prize!" Everyone applauded wildly as Yugi stood up from his desk and walked up to meet the teacher at the front. "Are you ready to find out what it is?" Yugi nodded in excitement. Again the whole classroom grew silent in anticipation.

"Give 'em a drumroll please!" Honda replied. Immediately he and Jonouchi were slapping their hands on the desk in quick succession as the teacher placed the covered object in Yugi's hands.

"Here's the grand prize!" she announced and in an instant, she lifted away the cloth. Yugi let out an excited gasp.

It was a CD case, and on it was a serpentine East Asian version of a Blue Eyes White Dragon, climbing stardust clouds. In one of its four claws, it was clutching an orb that was shooting five balls of energy, each composed of one of five elements: fire, earth, wind, water and void. But it wasn't the CD image itself that got him excited. It was the name that was etched upon it.

"What's the prize Yugi?" Jonouchi asked, "Is it good?"

"Shining Nova!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Huh? Shining Nova?" Anzu asked. Her confusion suddenly became elation as she realized what her boyfriend was talking about. "Wait! You mean that awesome rock band from America?"

"Yeah!" Yugi replied, "And it seem like they've released a new CD!" The students cheered wildly at the mention of that famous band, and even Kaiba perked up in interest.

"That's right! And you, the King of Games, are now the proud owner of the very first copy!" noted the teacher.

"Awesome!" Yugi cheered.

"But that's not all! Look inside!" Surprised by the instructions, Yugi nevertheless opened the CD case. There was the brand-new CD inside, but there was also something else… something just as valuable, if not more so.

"Oh! Oh, Kami-Sama! Mother of Ra!" Yugi exclaimed, "Somebody pinch me!" He was so excited he almost dropped his CD, but thankfully he kept his grip on it steady.

"What did you find?" Honda asked. Immediately Yugi took out four rectangular strips of paper. Each one has an Egypt motif on its face… along with the Shining Nova label.

"It's no dream Yugi!" replied the teacher, "You and three other guests will see Shining Nova in concert, live in Egypt! You will have the best front-row seats, AND you each get backstage passes to meet the whole band!"

The whole class erupted into excited screams, with the notable exception of Kaiba, who only smiled in amusement. "Awesome! You get to go see Shining Nova!" Anzu exclaimed happily, "Who are you taking with you?"

"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" Yugi cheered, "You guys wanna go?"

"You really mean it Yugi?" Jonouchi gasped in astonishment.

"Every word!"

"Awww YEAH!" Jonouchi shouted joyfully, "This is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

"You can count me in!" Honda agreed.

"Thank you so much Yugi!" squealed Anzu as she gave the King of Games a big hug. Again the classroom was filled with a round of applause from the students, all while Kaiba sat quietly with a confident smirk.

"Seems like no matter what kind of game we play, I still lose to Yugi. Oh well. I can still buy Mokuba and myself some tickets and backstage passes to Shining Nova's upcoming concert. After all, I love their music."

* * *

The timing for the concert couldn't be any more perfect. Spring Break had just arrived, and the airport was bustling with crowds of young travelers. "I'm just glad you've decided to join us, Mai." Jonouchi stated, "This trip just wouldn't be complete without you."

"What can I say," replied Mai with a wink, "When I heard that you and your friends were going to see Shining Nova, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity."

"And it was nice of Honda to buy some extra tickets for me too!" Shizuka giggled, "I wouldn't want to miss this experience for anything."

"Well, I hope you enjoy the show as much as we do!" Jonouchi replied cheerfully. The sandy blonde immediately gave a glare at Honda, without his little sister knowing. "If you lay a finger on my sister, I'll be forced to make an even bigger scene than what'll be on stage."

"Geez, take a chill pill Jonouchi!" Honda quietly complained, practically earning a chokehold from his friend. Meanwhile, not so far away, Yugi was placing his suitcase at the baggage terminal. All the while, there was a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Anzu asked him.

"Oh Anzu," Yugi replied as he snapped out of his trance, "I was thinking about the last time we went to Egypt. It brings back a lot of memories."

Anzu grew a little sad. It seemed like only yesterday when they headed to Egypt in order to bring Pharaoh Atem back to his rightful home in the afterlife. "Yeah… it's not as bittersweet as it was on that day, but I admit we all missed him."

"I know exactly how you feel. Not a day goes by when I wouldn't think of him. To me, he's like the big brother I never had." Yugi turned to look out the window. "In the end though, I'm glad that I surpassed him. I've become much stronger since then, and I thank him for helping me become the man that I am now." He turned back to give his girlfriend a playful smirk and a wink. "And as an additional bonus, I finally managed to gather up the courage to tell you my true feelings."

Anzu couldn't help but giggle. She has since realized her own feeling for the young man who had willing shared his own body with the Pharaoh, and they've been dating ever since. "Too true!"

"Well, let's hurry onward and board the plane." Yugi suggested, "I'll get our plane tickets and passports ready." Anzu nodded, and hurried over to retrieve the rest of her friends. The King of Games stepped over to the clerk. "Excuse me Miss," he began politely, "Here are six tickets for the plane heading to Cairo, Egypt."

"Thank you." Replied the clerk as he handed over the tickets. As she scanned the passports, she asked, "I don't mean to be nosy, but are you heading over there to see Shining Nova's live concert?"

"Why yes!" Yugi answered in surprise, "How did you know?"

"Ha ha ha, because I'm a fan of Shining Nova too!" giggled the clerk, "It's too bad I can't take a break from this job for Spring Break this time, otherwise I'd come with you!" They shared a good laugh, before she handed back the passports. "Anyway, it's all ready for you. Your plane will be arriving soon, so enjoy your trip!" Yugi thanked the clerk just as Anzu returned with the others in tow.

"Everyone ready?" Yugi asked.

"Ready when you are." Jonouchi replied.

"Good! Our plane is going to arrive any minute now, so let's get on board as soon as it lands."

* * *

The sun seemed to glare down at the sand dunes as if to try and bake them with its intense heat, but the cool air from the river Nile proved to be a great relief to those that reside near it. Such was the case of a five-star hotel in Cairo, and a young man was staring out the window at the top floor, deep red eyes peering at the blue-green water. He had a thin, slightly muscular build, with broad shoulders and strong slender arms and legs. His shoulder-length hair was spiky on the back and straight on the front, bangs hanging around his forehead. A thin white strip of cloth was tied around that forehead, giving an impression that he's ready for karate. The interesting thing about his hair however, was the color: on the front, the left side was midnight black while the right side was a bold crimson. On the back of his head, it was the other way around with the crimson on the left and black on the right. To put in more simple terms, it would seem that this arrangement in color was inspired by a checkerboard. Which was basically correct. His dark gray T-shirt, complete with a red dragon print, seemed to cling casually to his chest. The black and orange plaid pajama pants added to his just-out-of-bed look, which is actually quite appropriate at this time. It was morning after all.

"Slifer!" a young feminine voice called. The young man spun around at the mention of his name. Actually his real name was Stephen Thompson, but among his friends the lead guitarist was better known by his stage name: Slifer Inferno. Slifer smiled as a slim, petite young girl his age came into view with an elf-like grace. Her long hair reached toward her hips, splitting neatly at the ends. A lock of it nearly covered her left eye, giving a sensual appearance to her already pretty face. She came in wearing a dark green tank top and black sports panties. In fact, green was the color that defined her; her hair was green like a summer leaf, shifting to a deep black where it split into individual tendrils. Even her eyes were a forest green, which was one of the things that attracted Slifer.

"Oh hey! Good morning Emeraude!" Slifer greeted. "I see you managed to get the coffee."

The tomboy bassist Emily Sarcosky, better known as Emeraude Saber, smiled coyly even as she steadied the grip on the tongs that clamped onto the steaming plastic cup. "Yep, and it's exactly how you wanted it: decaf and just about as hot as molten lava."

"Thanks!" Slifer replied, taking the cup. The intense heat of the piping hot coffee within didn't even burn his fingers, nor did it scorch his mouth as he took a casual sip. Emeraude joined him by the window. "Can you believe we're actually in Egypt? I mean, this is the land of the pharaohs, the original birthplace of Duel Monsters! And we get the honor of performing our biggest gig by the pyramids!"

"I know! I'm excited just thinking about it!" Emeraude agreed, "You know, I wonder if we'll get to see the new exhibit going on at the Cairo Museum."

"New exhibit?" Slifer queried.

"From what I've heard, a secret tomb has been discovered recently, a great distance from the Valley of the Kings. It's of a legendary New Kingdom pharaoh, and get this! It was never robbed! It's the greatest discovery since King Tut!"

"Cool! Does this pharaoh have a name?"

"Yeah, Pharaoh Atem! Formerly known as the Nameless Pharaoh."

"Atem?" Slifer gasped in surprise, "But I thought his trap-filled tomb was in the Valley of the Kings!"

"It is." Emeraude explained, "It turned out that he actually had two tombs, as well as two mortuary temples. The first tomb wasn't actually where his body or possessions were buried; it's a symbolic shrine that's a temporary home for the Millennium Puzzle. According to the Egyptologists who discovered the tomb, some of his loyal subjects seemed to have suspected the possibility of tomb robbery and had him buried in a place where tomb robbers could not find him. And it's pretty obvious that their efforts have paid off, because here they are for all to see!"

"Sweet!" Slifer complemented, "Now _I_ want to see the exhibit!"

"Well, our concert is only two days away. How about we check it out today when we get our free time."

"Sounds like a good idea! Right now though, let's head to the kitchen. It's just about time for breakfast, and we all know how quickly Obelisk can suck up food like a vacuum cleaner."

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of their first class hotel room, another young man swung his sticks, beating a drum controller in perfect rhythm. He had the stocky build of a high school quarterback, hinting at incredible strength. The bridge of his nose was raised in a way that if one would look at his profile, it was a like a crooked bump. Likewise his chin was a bit blocky, showing off the thin strip of golden blonde hair that made up his goatee. His short hair was also a golden blonde, and spikes of hair stuck upward in an extreme cowlick. In contrast, he possessed deep violet eyes, which matched the color of his earrings and the nose ring that stuck out from the side of his left nostril. This morning he wore a white T-shirt with purple bands on the sleeves, tattered blue jeans, and the lucky gold sneakers he would always wear on stage. And right now his eyes were peering onto the TV screen ahead of him, tracking every jewel that was speeding down the drum version of the game's highway. He couldn't help but grin like a maniac, feeling that one of the few elusive full-combo rankings was finally in his grasps. But then right at the last moment…

"AW C'MON, DUDE!" the young man roared in frustrated anger as the last jewel slipped down the highway untouched. As the result screen appeared showing the 99 percent combo, he pointed at the TV, glaring. "I was this close to beating you, THIS CLOSE! I'll get you yet! I'll swear I'LL GET MY 100 PERCENT FROM YOU!" At that moment a young woman came through the door. She was what others would describe as an African American, with smooth light brown skin. Her thin shapely frame gave her the look of a supermodel, in fact. Her long wavy hair, a light blue-green turquoise color, cascaded down her shoulders and reached to her thighs. She had a sky-blue tank top on, along with bell-bottom jeans and platform sandals. There was a hint of laughter in her deep blue eyes.

"What's going on Obbie?" she asked, grabbing the attention of the young man in question. Oscar Fitzpatrick was the drummer of his band, and he often goes by the stage name Obelisk Prime. For short though, his friends referred to him as Obbie. Obelisk blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh! Uhhh… sorry Coral." He replied sheepishly, "I just got beaten by this song again. It's so hard to get a full combo on it in expert mode…"

Coral Montgomery, one of the two lead singers, just giggled. "Well it is more than 15 minutes long. It's amazing enough that you even managed to get five stars on the first try."

"But it's not perfect!" Obelisk complained, "I've tried 63 times but I still haven't got my full combo! It's humiliating!" Once again he pointed at the game on the screen. "I will not stand for it! No matter what, I'll get that combo even if it takes me years!"

"Your war on that song will have to wait." Coral replied, putting her hair up in a ponytail with her barrette of red flowers. "I'm getting some breakfast ready for the band. We got homemade blueberry waffles, crepes, French toast and sausage, and let's not forget the traditional Japanese breakfast special!"

Obelisk suddenly stood up, his game forgotten. "Breakfast?" he exclaimed with a grin, "ALL RIGHT! I can't wait!"

"In that case, let's get everyone to the table." Coral suggested, "Nautilus is in the next room over, so you can go get him."

"Sure thing!" Obelisk replied, speeding toward the door, "It might take a while though. The only hard part about retrieving your boyfriend is snapping him out of his trance."

* * *

The radio belted out the rhythmic thumping of the beat, filling the entire room with one of the world's most famous reggae/dancehall songs. But the room itself looked nothing like a dance floor, as anyone would expect. Instead, it had a rather peaceful atmosphere, complete with flower arrangements, sandalwood incense, a shogi screen and even wall scrolls depicting traditional Japanese brush paintings. At the center, one young man sat on his knees in deep meditation. He was truly bishounen material and though he could be mistaken for a Native American at first glance, many people are quick to realize that this was not the case. He was actually a boy of mixed ancestry—Specifically an Afro-Asian American, born of a Jamaican father and a Japanese American mother. His nose was proof of this fact; it was a perfect blend of both his parents' traits. Like Coral, he had light brown skin, but due to his lineage it is only slightly lighter. Long straight hair, as blue as the deep ocean, cascaded down to reach his hips and his bangs were styled in a way reminiscent of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7: parting from the forehead in two strands. As of this morning he was wearing an ocean theme ki-nagashi, a men's casual kimono, which fits in perfectly with his Zen meditation session.

Of course, most people would consider this combination of Zen and reggae a little strange, if not downright ridiculous. But then again, this young man was not "most people".

From the corner of the nearby door, Obelisk peeked in. "Hey Nautie!" he called in as low a volume as he could muster. 'Nautie' was the nickname of this young man of mixed heritage, whose real name was Nathaniel Xavier. He was better known by the stage name from which this nickname had stemmed: Nautilus Tide. Nautilus was the other lead singer and along with Slifer, he was the co-founder and co-leader of their rock band, together known as Shining Nova. He was also a gifted songwriter, and it was he who had written most of the band's world famous hit singles. When he gave no answer, Obelisk tried again, stepping inside as he did so. "Nautie! It's time to get some breakfast!" Still, Nautilus gave no reply. He just kneeled there, still as a marble, and his eyes didn't even open once. Now you might think that the best way to get him out of his self-induced trance was to simply turn off the radio. But Obelisk knew better. He tried it once before and when he did, Nautilus simply turned it back on without flinching. This initiated this back and forth, 'on' and 'off' switch tug-of-war until at last the Songweaver, still in his blissful trance, shoved a live octopus right into the drummer's wide-open mouth just as said drummer was trying to yell at him to snap out of it! Obelisk still cringed at the thought of that day, because if there was one thing he hated more than raw meat, it's raw meat that's still alive. Needless to say, he never wanted to go through that scenario again. Instead, he started poking Nautilus on the shoulder. "Nautie!" Still no response. "C'mon Dude, snap out of it!" When that didn't work, he tried to raise his voice. "Nautie!" It was no good, Nautilus still wouldn't budge. "Okay," Obelisk muttered in frustration, "You leave me no choice." He took out a megaphone and put its volume on maximum—then aimed it straight into the ear of his intended target! Hoping to overpower the already loud reggae music, he took one deep breath and…

"**NAAAAAUTIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**"

The force of the megaphone was such that the Songweaver's hair was flying as if in a wild breeze! But he never flinched! In fact, it didn't even bother him! Before long, Obelisk was panting from the effort of his own yelling. Finally after a few seconds, Nautilus calmly opened his eyes, revealing sky blue irises. He turned his head toward the drummer. "Oh! Good morning Obbie-Mon." he greeted in a smooth and captivating tenor voice. Of course he even though he was half-Jamaican, he had no Jamaican accent whatsoever.

Obelisk fell flat on his face. "Sheesh Nautilus! What do I have to do to snap you out of your Zen trances?"

"Well I'm finished now, aren't I?" Nautilus asked. Obelisk sweatdropped and moaned in exhaustion.

"In any case, Coral's making breakfast for the band." He replied, "She sent me to retrieve you."

Nautilus smiled. "Ah, breakfast! I was getting rather hungry!" He stood up and walked toward the closet. "Tell Coral-Chan I'm on my way."

"Sure." Replied Obelisk, "I'll… tell her. Dude, I'm soooo hungry…" And he crawled like an inchworm out of his friend's room, leaving the Songweaver to change his clothes.

* * *

"Here you are," Coral announced happily as she put the last of her homemade breakfast dishes on the table, "dig in while it's still nice and warm!"

"Sweet!" Slifer stated with obvious enthusiasm.

"Thanks Coral!" Emeraude replied. The two guitarists had already changed clothes by the time their breakfast got on the table. Slifer was wearing a black T-shirt with a yellow-orange skull and crossbones print located directly over his torso. It hung loosely over equally baggy blue jeans, and on his feet he wore thick red sneakers. Emeraude, on the other hand, had a smaller plain white T-shirt complete with a green vest, and a pair of jean shorts reaching her knees. Otherwise, her look was similar to that of her lead guitarist boyfriend.

"All right, time to chow down!" Obelisk announced, but just as he was about to pounce on the raspberry pancakes, Slifer stopped him.

"Not so fast Obelisk!" he stated, tugging on his childhood friend, "Wait until Nautilus gets to the table!" Right at that moment, Nautilus indeed came down. He was now wearing blue denim jeans and a pair of stylish open-toed sandals. His blue-white cotton shirt was unbuttoned, showing off a smooth well-muscled chest.

"Hey guys!" He greeted. "Good morning."

"Hey! What's up?" Slifer greeted likewise, as did the other members of the band. Smiling, the Songweaver took his seat with chopsticks in hand.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?"

"It's about time!" Obelisk exclaimed, and once again he practically pounced on his breakfast. This time, there was no holding him back. He wolfed down his pancakes like he hasn't eaten for days. Thankfully, the rest of the band was a little more polite.

"Ah, tamagoyaki!" Nautilus sighed happily as he munched on one of said Japanese egg rolls, "It never gets old in my palette! My compliments to you Coral-Chan, as always."

Coral blushed. "Oh… no problem."

"So Nautilus, I heard you gave Obbie a hard time this morning." Slifer noted.

"So I've been told." Nautilus replied, "I heard his voice right before I was finished with my Zen session. I admit, it was pretty faint."

Obelisk face-faulted right into the pancakes. When he lifted his head up again, revealing a messy face in the process, he exclaimed, "Pretty faint? I was using a megaphone!"

"Well, how else did I manage to hear you in the first place?" asked Nautilus. For the second time this morning, Obelisk sweatdropped.

"Never mind about that." Emeraude stated as the drummer wiped his face with his napkin, "What's on our schedule for today?"

"Well according to Slifer's father, Daniel Thompson," Nautilus answered, "we'll start with an autograph session at 11 AM today."

"Ohhh boy, it's that time again isn't it?" Coral replied, and not so enthusiastically. Now don't get them wrong, the members of Shining Nova love their fans, and signing autographs can be fun. It's just that there are some fans who wanted them to put their signature on the strangest objects. It's been that way since the band had made its first public appearance, and like most superstars the novelty of autograph sessions wears off on them rather quickly.

It's another reason why they keep a part of their hearts hard on their fans.

"I wonder what kind weird things we'll have to sign this time?" Emeraude mused, "And I'm not talking about the replicas of Egyptian artifacts."

"Yeah." Slifer agreed, "Remember the time when we had our very first autograph session together? There was one Scottish fan in particular who wanted us to sign this large slab of haggis."

"Ah yes, the infamous haggis incident." Nautilus mused, "Nothing could top that in our list of strange autographs."

"Yeah and I wanted to eat it too." Obelisk added.

"Nostalgia aside," Nautilus continued, "the next thing on our schedule is a photo shoot taking place at the Cairo Museum at around 3 PM. Then at 7 PM we have practice for our concert, which is coming up in two days."

"Cairo Museum?" Slifer stated suddenly, "Emeraude and I were going to ask you about that! There's a new exhibit that's on display right now. And get this! It's all about Pharaoh Atem, and even his mummy is on display!"

The Songweaver picked up his cup of green tea and smiled. "I've heard about this legendary hero-king. They say he's the direct descendant of the famous female pharaoh Hatshepsut. In fact, it is confirmed that he was her great-grandson."

"Cool!" Obelisk stated in excitement, "Maybe we can look at this exhibit while we wait for the photo shoot!"

"I think we should too!" Agreed Coral, "The timing couldn't be any perfect than this!"

Nautilus took a sip of his tea before he replied, "It's settled then! We'll head to the Museum at noon." He stood up, taking his now empty plate. "But first, we need to get ready and head outside the hotel for our autograph session. It's 10:30, and we don't want to be late."

"Yeah, let's go." Emeraude stated, "The sooner we get down there, the sooner we can get it over with."

"I'm with you." Slifer added.

"Me too!" Obelisk agreed. With that, they all got up from their seats and headed out the door. Nautilus lingered a bit and faced his girlfriend.

"You know Coral-Chan," he noted, "When I heard that we were going to Egypt for our latest concert, the first thing that came to my mind was Pharaoh Atem and Duel Monsters."

"Really?" Coral replied, "Was that what inspired you to write this one song for our encore?"

"Of course." Answered the Songweaver, "And I also thought of Yugi Mutou when I composed it. Considering the events that took place with him and that hero-king, they're both like two sides of the same coin."

* * *

Two days had passed, and the night of the concert had finally arrived. The Giza Pyramids stood proudly behind the stage, which was decorated with Ancient Egyptian motifs. As a finishing touch huge automated models of the Egyptian God Card Duel Monsters loomed over the stage. The equally gigantic crowd voiced their anticipation of the gig with glee. Yugi and his friends looked forward to it most of all, especially since their seats were right in front of the stage! "Aw yeah, now that's what I'm talking about!" Jonouchi exclaimed joyfully to his friends. "The best seats in the house AND we get to meet the band after it's all over! It couldn't get any better than this!"

Honda dug into his pockets and pulled out six sets of earplugs. "Here, you might need to use these." He noted, handing a set to each companion.

"Thanks Honda!" Yugi replied, "I forgot to bring my own."

"Eh, why do we need these?" Jonouchi asked in confusion, "I thought we're going to listen to their music."

"We are." Honda answered, "But live concerts never come with volume control. And since we're seated right in front of the stage with all those amplifiers facing toward us, you know how loud it's gonna get."

The sandy blonde just blinked, then shuddered. The last thing he wanted to lose at his age was his sense of hearing. "Good point." He simply replied, before putting his earplugs on.

"I've set my cell phone on the encore lighter," Anzu replied to Yugi, "What about you?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Yugi answered with a wink.

"Hey, isn't that Kaiba sitting behind us?" Shizuka asked timidly. Mai turned around to see.

"Yeah, it is!" she gasped, causing the rest of the group to look behind them. Sure enough, there was the teen billionaire and his younger brother.

"WHAT THE?" Jonouchi exclaimed in fury, "KAIBA! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"

"Of course I am." Kaiba replied with a smirk. "I bought tickets online and requested a backstage pass for me and Mokuba. What can I say, I'm just as big a Shining Nova fan as you are!"

"So you are." Yugi noted, returning the smirk.

"Anyway, the concert will be starting in a few minutes and I'm sure you don't want to miss it." Kaiba suggested, "So sit down and shut up."

"Yeah, what he said!" Mokuba piped. The sandy blonde growled, but nevertheless did as he was told.

"All right. Enjoy the show." Yugi replied calmly and with that the rest of the group faced the stage once again.

* * *

Backstage, the members of Shining Nova were all prepping up for their biggest gig yet. Each had gotten dressed into their famous trademark clothing and each were warming up with their instruments. Slifer, who was sitting near a large amplifier, busied himself with tuning his electric V guitar, the Red Lightning. It was named for the decoration on the black neck of the instrument, a crimson lightning bolt. The black arrow-tipped head of the guitar, lined with red, seemed to add to its fierce appearance. The body of the guitar was a dark red as well, with splashes of black that made it look like it survived a raging fire. It perfectly suited the lead guitarist as it enhanced his punk rock garb. He had his black T-shirt with the yellow-orange skull and crossbones print, but now a gray vest with red shoulders hugged around it. The shoulders of that vest were also studded with seemingly sharp spikes, as befits a punk rocker. On his right hand, he wore a black glove with holes that were meant to expose his fingers and three rows of small spikes that made its wrist. On his left forearm was a black armband wrapped with leather belts and chains. The black T-shirt was tucked into a pair of bold dark red jeans, complete with a spike-studded belt bearing a cross medallion on the front. On each outer foreleg 4 metal rings were sewn in a neat vertical row in a way that made them look like they were pierced to the lower jeans. Finally, the look was complete with a pair of thick black boots, with studded spikes sitting on top.

Obelisk tapped a few notes on an old triple-bass drum kit with three bass drums, all in preparation for his performance on his beloved Thunder Dragon drums. The triple-bass drum kit that was the Thunder Dragon had a pattern on its shells resembling a violet tinted gust of wind, and on the face of each bass drum was the frontal profile of a Blue Eyes Shining Dragon. Now contrary to popular belief, this Duel Monster was not the inspiration for the band's name. It was, however, the inspiration for their official logo: an East Asian version of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, which they called the Blue Eyes Imperial Dragon. As for the Blue Eyes Shining Dragon itself, it had such a shining appeal to the band that they couldn't resist adding its face to their visual motif on the Thunder Drums. For that reason, Obelisk would sometimes call his favorite drum kit the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Obelisk wore a violet T-shirt, but he also had on a yellow jacket with a single violet stripe across the chest. The tattered jeans were a lighter shade of yellow, and as always, he wore his lucky gold sneakers. In contrast to his childhood friend, his look resembled a mix between hip-hop and metal.

Nautilus also had a look that made him stand out from the rest of his band mates. He wore a black tank shirt that was tattered and torn so that his chest can be seen through the jagged holes. Over that he wore a stylish navy blue trenchcoat that reached to his knees. The forearms of its long sleeves were graced with cerulean ribbons arranged in the pattern of the double helix. A strip of black cloth in the shape of a triangle poked out of the sleeves and lay on the back of his hands. There were metal rings neatly arranged in a vertical line near where the trenchcoat opened up and exposed the handsome body within. The first six rings were located on the upper torso, three on the left and three on the right. The middle rings were located slightly above a single thick cerulean stripe that wrapped around his chest. The other eight rings were located right below his waist, with four rings on each side of his body. Between each set of these four rings was a thick cerulean line that connected to them like a vertical chain. The most attractive thing about this trenchcoat was that every ring was empty in the center; much more of the Songweaver's form could be seen through these holes. Around his waist was a large belt made up of three rows of small white square studs, and it was found underneath the trenchcoat to enhance the sex appeal and allow more freedom for the coat in question. His deep blue denim pants had six cerulean bands, and each leg had three bands wrapped around them: two right below his hips, two above his knees and two on his calves. The pants themselves came with a dark blue codpiece decorated with two vertical rows of four studs. That part of his outfit put on display one of Nautilus' most notable flaws: a mild vanity. The black leather boots poking out from under the pants looked a little plain on its surface but they fit around his feet to the point of perfection in his eyes. Overall, the wardrobe Nautilus donned took a lot of the best cues from the Matrix Trilogy—a perfect description of his industrial rock style.

Coral had on a sky blue tank top that was small enough to expose her navel, held up by thin straps on her shoulders. Two small leather buckles fastened the lower part of the tank top, seen as horizontal rectangles with one on top of the other. The thick baby-blue straps of a second tank top stuck out from underneath the first, barely hanging on to the shoulders. A thick gray choker clung to her neck, and it held in place another necklace that hung a little more loosely: a cross pendant on a platinum chain. On her left arm she had a blue bracelet on her biceps and her forearm had a blue gauntlet-like cloth armband held together with buckles on each side. On her right arm she had a blue armband that was set like elbow pads, and her wrist was graced with six bracelets, three of lapis lazuli and three of turquoise. Around her waist was a buckle belt with a pair of small pouches located at the back of her hips. Black leather short shorts could be seen from the openings of her blue chaps, all crisscrossed with baby blue ribbons. Just below her knees she had a pair of blue-gray high-heeled boots. Her wavy turquoise hair was again put up in a high ponytail with barrettes decorated with a pair of red flowers. As her friends had commented, she looked like the pop star she was.

She and Nautilus were together, going through their usual singing exercises. Even in practice sessions, their beautiful voices intertwined to create a heavenly rock ballad.

Finally there was Emeraude. Her outfit was the embodiment of her black metal style. She had a black choker around her neck, and she wore only a dark green bikini top complete with a black tattered denim vest. Both of her forearms had armband studded with several spikes. Her belt also had some spikes of the back and it was all that held up a green plaid miniskirt (just because Emeraude was a tomboy doesn't mean she didn't like short skirts). Her legs were covered with wildly tattered black stockings, exposing her lovely legs through several holes. In complete tomboy fashion she donned a pair a gray army boots fit for junglewear. Emeraude had already tuned her bass guitar, Forest Beat, which was a sharp X-shaped guitar made with the thickness of a broad axe. It had the green digital camouflage pattern that was also dotted with dark gray blast pattern to make it look like it survived a fire. With her bass guitar on the ready, she was now peeking from the corner of the stage to get a good look at the audience.

"Oh—my—GOD!" Emeraude gasped when her eyes scanned the front row. "Guys, you are not gonna believe who's come to see us!"

"Who?" Slifer asked in interest.

"The one and only Yugi Mutou! The King of Games and the Grand Master of Duel Monsters himself!"

Nautilus and Coral stopped singing for a moment. "Let me see." Nautilus suggested and he stepped to where the tomboy bassist was standing. Sure enough, there was the King of Games sitting at the front row. The Songweaver smiled. "Well I'll be! Ha ha, I never would have guessed that the great Yugi Mutou would be our biggest fan!"

Slifer stood up and stepped forward. "Yugi, a fan of Shining Nova? Now that is what I call the icing on our cake!" The lead guitarist took out a card and showed it to his friends. On it was a certain red serpentine dragon with two mouths. "See this card right here? I know I've shown you this before, but it's a replica of Slifer the Sky Dragon, the Egyptian God Card owned by Yugi himself. It brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does." Coral mused, "When you first came to our apartment, Nautilus and I tried to introduce you to Obelisk. It was a big surprise when we learned the two of you have been friends since kindergarten."

"And we were confused when you called each other 'Slifer' and 'Obelisk'." Added Nautilus, "That's when the both of you showed us these replicas of two Egyptian God Cards, Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor. I still find it amazing that these cards were the inspiration of what became your respective stage names."

"Actually Obelisk the Tormentor was inspiration for only part of my stage name." Obelisk reminded, "The 'Prime' part came from the Transformers, which was my favorite series when I was a kid."

"We know Obelisk." Emeraude murmured in slight annoyance, "You already told us about your collection of Optimus Prime action figures."

"But that's beside the point!" Obelisk retorted. "Anyway, let me have a look too!" He rose up and took a peek from the corner. There was a look of surprise as he scanned the front row. "Hey! That dude Seto Kaiba is here too!"

"You're right!" Slifer stated, "And he's even got his kid brother with him!"

"First the King of Games, then his rival. The wonders never cease." Nautilus mused.

Right at that moment one of the roadies, a boy with short red hair and flaming red-orange eyes, jumped down from one of the amplifiers. "Hey everyone, I heard you talking about Yugi Mutou over there! I just got word that he and some of his friends got a backstage pass, so you'll get to meet him after the show's over."

The whole band was filled with excitement when they heard those words. "Really? That's awesome!" Emeraude exclaimed.

"Thanks for telling us Chizel! I'm already looking forward to it!" Slifer stated.

"No problem." Replied the roadie, Chizel. "Anyway, you're on in 30 seconds."

"Got it!" Coral stated. "You guys all ready?"

"Yeah! Bring it on!" Obelisk answered with a grin, thrusting his drumsticks into the air.

"I got my guitar all tuned up and all the songs memorized." Slifer stated, "What about you Emeraude? You game?"

"I'm way ahead of you on that one!" Emeraude added with a wink.

"Nautilus?" Slifer queried.

"Ready when you are, Slifer-Mon." Nautilus answered confidently. He picked up his staff, Sonic Wave, which was made of red coral that turned lavender toward the top where it branched around an aquamarine the size of a tennis ball.

"15 seconds till ShowTime!" Chizel announced.

"Let's make it count everyone!" Nautilus stated.

"You heard him! Let's do this!" Slifer bolstered.

"10 seconds!" Chizel shouted. By then all five members of Shining Nova had gathered in a circle. Each one had their hand in front of them and each hand met in the center, lying on top of one another to symbolize their unbreakable bond.

As the voices of the crowd grew louder, Slifer shouted enthusiastically, "Alright now, 3, 2, 1-"

The hands of the whole band dipped down then rose up in the air, parting from the center all while they let out their shout in unison:

"GO, SHINING NOVA!"

As their roadie started the countdown on the five-second mark, the stage grew dark and one by one the rock stars that are Shining Nova made their grand entrance.

The Cairo Bazaar concert has begun.

Note: In the next and final chapter of this tale, the members of Shining Nova displays what makes them unique from other rock bands, a mysterious visitor arrives to pay Yugi and his friends a visit, and after the concert the two parties meet! What will happen? That's for you to find out. On another note, the conversation that the Shining Nova members has with each other and the appearance of their roadie Chizel, are practically hints of the plot of a up and coming Guitar Hero fanfic, in which these heroes are the stars! If you want to know them a bit better, and even get a better idea as to what they look like, go to my DeviantART site to have a look. The address for it is on my profile in this site. I hope you like them either way. Until Next Time!


End file.
